


(You Are) The Way That I Know

by fletchfeathers



Series: About Falling [1]
Category: Dungeons & Dragons (Roleplaying Game)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, also a wee bit of backstory bc why not, like for real cavity-inducing fluff, smut implied
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-28
Updated: 2018-02-28
Packaged: 2019-03-24 23:35:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,385
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13821831
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fletchfeathers/pseuds/fletchfeathers
Summary: With Redemption, everything was so fast, each encounter an urgent and desperate attempt to make up for lost time.With Tris, though, it's different.





	(You Are) The Way That I Know

Falling in love, Talon thinks, will be something he knows about as soon as it happens.

He knows the drill. He even thinks he's been there once, though it feels like a lifetime ago now. It's intense, is the thing, and all-consuming. He's heard it's lightning crackling through your skin and your stomach swooping as though falling from a great height.

He reasons that there's no way he can miss it.

And maybe that's exactly why he does.

-

Being with Tristan feels a lot like being with Redemption, in a lot of ways.

Talon still thinks of the Tiefling boy sometimes, the merchant's son who essentially rescued him from the streets, of the way they'd always skirted that fine line between friendship and romance. Talon always felt as though he was treading too close to that line for comfort, desperately scared of the vulnerability that came with letting himself fall for someone.

But Talon knows he did fall for him, in some way. The feelings are long gone now, gently washed away by the combination of time and the fact that he has other things to occupy his mind these days; but occasionally, when he's alone with his thoughts, the faint echo of bitterness at what could've been still lurks in his mind.

It had to be love. Talon had never known a feeling like it before, of just how raw and open he'd felt when he'd been underneath Redemption in those tavern beds.

Redemption taught Talon all he knew about how to please a lover, and eagerly demonstrated on Talon at every chance he got. Talon remembers so vividly his head being dizzy with the honey-taste of mead on his tongue, his heart thundering as Redemption's mouth and fingers learned every sweet spot on Talon's body, of how it felt like he was being set alight with need every time Redemption was inside him.

They never talked about feelings, not really. With Redemption and his father only travelling into the city every few weeks, they usually had more urgent business to attend to than that. But, in the here and now, Talon is quietly glad that nothing ever came of it, that Redemption ended up moving away with his father for good. That, and he has to laugh at the sheer fucking _irony_ of the whole being-in-love-with-Redemption thing.

Besides, now that he has Tris, Redemption seems to cross his mind less and less these days.

Talon likes Tris a lot, he knows that much, and Tris is so _pretty_. It's kind of unfair, really, how Talon has yet to see Tris and think he's anything less than adorable - but, after Redemption and that particular brand of never-was heartbreak, Talon can't help but stay guarded.

With Redemption, he could see it coming. He could almost feel the pull in his chest, and how it ached when the words got trapped in his throat, and he knew this had to be more-than-friends. With Redemption, everything was so fast, each encounter an urgent and desperate attempt to make up for lost time.

With Tris, though, it's different.

Sure, Talon's heart still skips a little when Tris hits him with one of those blinding smiles, and his stomach tingles when Tris kisses him especially softly. And, sure, he loves _everything_ about getting Tris into bed with him, from Tris' sweet sounds to the way the barest hints of touch can have him breathless and begging under Talon.

And, yeah, they brush with death a _lot_ more than Talon would like - but Tris doesn't disappear for weeks at a time when they're on the road. They have time to grow comfortable in each other's spaces, and to learn how to shape themselves to fit the other. Talon has time to find out that Tris loves nothing more than to be surprised with soft embraces from behind, that if Talon catches him with one he can guarantee Tris will melt right into him. Tris surprises Talon by figuring out that exact spot on the back of Talon's neck where he loves to be petted, the spot that sends happy tingles all the way up and down his spine, and always pets him there when Talon's wound up from a day of fighting or he can't sleep or his thoughts are too loud.

It takes Talon so long to realise because, this time, it doesn't happen all at once.

-

When Talon wakes up, he can feel the light chill in the air; summer is on its way out. He sits up in his bedroll and stretches, feeling a satisfying crack across his shoulders as he does so, and glances around the camp.

Quick Branch is the only one awake so far, sitting on a log by the long-since burnt out campfire and chewing thoughtfully on a piece of dried meat; but it's not long before Kibble joins her, greeting the Tabaxi warmly as she shuffles up next to her. Quick Branch smiles and breaks off a piece of the jerky for Kibble, who thanks her as she takes it.

Talon allows himself a fond smile and, thinking it best to leave them to it, glances around to where Mhéirí is still dozing. Her graceful deer legs are folded beneath her, her face peaceful and content; and, resting between her and Talon is Tris.

Talon watches him, a little lost in the soft rise and fall of his shoulders and the way his breaths stir a loose curl that's fallen across his face. It's been a while since he's woken up feeling so content, but here he is, letting out a breath as he lets the warm feeling flood his chest. No doubt they'll be off to take care of some troublemaking monster soon enough, but for now, it's enough to just enjoy this moment.

He breaks out of his reverie briefly when he feels someone watching him and, glancing up, he spots Mhéirí looking right at him, smiling as though she knows something Talon doesn't.

"Good morning, Talon," she says, almost too sweetly. Talon narrows his eyes suspiciously, but Mhéirí just giggles and rises to her feet.

"I'll let you have some privacy," she says playfully. Talon rolls his eyes and she laughs again, going to join Kibble and Branch for breakfast.

"Privacy?" comes a sleep-soft voice, and Talon looks down to see Tris just starting to awaken himself, rubbing the sleep out of one of his eyes. "Do I want to know?"

Talon smirks and reaches out to ruffle Tris' hair.

"I _promise_ I wasn't doing anything," Talon says, deliberately pitching his voice to sound like he _absolutely was_ just to see the way Tris' face crinkles in adorable confusion.

"Don't _do things_ in front of Mhéirí," Tris whines, sitting up just enough to flop against Talon and rest his head on the half-elf's shoulder.

"I would never," Talon assures him, before a wicked grin spreads across his face. "It'd be like fucking in front of your mom."

" _Talon_!" Tris squeals, and Talon lets out a cackle as the girls' heads, almost in perfect unison, snap around to see what's going on. He sees Tris' cheeks start to burn bright red and, flustered by the sudden attention, Tris buries his head in Talon's shirt. Talon drapes his arms around Tris' waist, dropping a kiss in his hair.

"You are the _worst_ ," Tris mumbles, glancing up at Talon from where his head's cushioned against his chest.

And there's no lightning strike. There's no fireworks. Talon doesn't feel like he's been pushed off a cliff.

When he meets Tris' eyes, something that had once been restless and unsure just settles quietly into place.

There's a beat of silence, and Tris frowns, lifting his head and reaching up to touch Talon's cheeks with his fingertips.

"Is everything okay?" Tris asks, quiet and concerned. Gods, he's so, _so_ beautiful.

Talon lets out a breath he'd not realised he was holding and kisses Tris once, twice, pulls him in just a little closer.

"Talon?" Tris murmurs, fidgeting a little in Talon's lap; but Talon just smiles, cups Tris' face in his hands and runs his thumbs along the apples of his cheeks.

"I'm good," Talon says, because he is.

And when he kisses Tris a third time, he whispers "I love you," because he does.

**Author's Note:**

> talon may be dead rn in the game's canon but you'll NEVER STOP ME WRITING FIC FOR THESE TWO especially because i have a list of prompts for 'times you said "I love you"' to tide us over in the interim (there's fluff and angst and smut potential, Do Not Worry)
> 
> this prompt was "in awe, the first time you realised it"


End file.
